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HAMPTON, Va. – The Peninsula Pilots came up short with a 7-5 loss to the Wilson Tobs on Wednesday night at War Memorial Stadium.

A six-run fifth inning by Wilson changed the momentum and gave the Pilots their third straight home loss, dropping them under .500 at War Memorial Stadium.

The Pilots jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning and had a chance to score more but could not capitalize. Drake McNamara (Southern Indiana) led off with a single and advanced to third on a double by Conor Davis (Auburn). After a hit by pitch to load the bases, Zac Ching (VMI) made the Tobs pay with a single to center to bring home McNamara. The team could not score more as the first out followed with a play at the plate and then a double play ended the inning.

Wilson used a six-run fifth inning to take the lead and never looked back. A lead off single set up a two-run home run by Hunter Gore (Liberty) to put the Tobs on top. After a pitching change later in the inning, a two-run triple by Andre Nnebe (UC Santa Clara) extended the lead to 4-1. Hits by Dawnoven Smith (NC A&T) and Jake Holtzapple (North Carolina) also scored runs to give the Tobs a 6-1 advantage.

A run in the eighth inning extended the lead to 7-1 before the Pilots made things interesting with a pair of runs in the final two innings.

After two quick outs, Sam Griggs (Southern Indiana) started a rally with a hit by pitch. Logan Augustine (Lincoln Memorial) drew a walk and a McNamara single loaded the bases. Davis drew a bases loaded walk to score a run and Logan Brown (Southern Indiana) brought in a run with a RBI single.

In the ninth, McNamara hit a single that brought in two runs to cut the deficit to 7-5 but the Tobs brought in Kelvin McAllister (NC A&T) to notch his eighth save and strand the tying run on the bases.

Casey Williams (Liberty) picked up the win to improve to 5-4 as he tossed 7 2/3 innings of three-run ball. Tyler Garbee (Pittsburgh) took the loss with three runs in 4 1/3 innings and fell to 0-4 on the season.

The Pilots host the Salamanders on Thursday night for its final Thirsty Thursday of the 2017 campaign.

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The Coastal Plain League is the nation’s premier summer collegiate baseball league. Celebrating its 21st season in 2017, the CPL features 15 teams playing in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The CPL has had nearly 1,300 alumni drafted and 97 of those – including 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young winner Justin Verlander – make their Major League debut; while another notable alum – Russell Wilson – won Super Bowl XLVIII. For more information on the Coastal Plain League, please visit the league website at www.coastalplain.com and follow us via Twitter @CPLBaseball.